Football boots

ABSTRACT

A football boot, the upper of which is provided with an outer shield which covers the instep of the wearer, each side edge of the shield being provided with a plurality of lace holes, preferably there being stitched or otherwise secured to each side of the upper a flap which is provided with a plurality of corresponding lace holes, the lace holes being located so that the lacings may fasten the shield centrally or to the left or right of the instep of the wearer as desired.

United States Patent Gatti 1451 Nov. 28, 1972 FOOTBALL BOOTS [72]Inventor: Joseph 57 Oakwood Avenue,

Beckenham, England 221 Filed: Sept. 15, 1970' 21 Appl.No.: 72,443

52 U.s. i

..'......36/2.s AG, 36/50 51 im. c1.... ..A43b 11/00 58 Field ofSearch..36/2.5 R, 25 AG, 50, 71

[56]. Y References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,109,751 3/1938 Matthiasel al. ..36/50 x 806,267 12/1905 King ..36/71 832,855 10/1906 Golden..'..36/2'.5AG

2/1930 Williams ..36/50 7/1965 Shu-Lien Liou ..36/50 PrimaryExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Attorney-Hall & Houghton ABSTRACT A footballboot, the upper of which is provided with an outer'shield which coversthe instep of the wearer, each side edge of the shield being providedwith a plurality of lace holes, preferably there being stitched orotherwise secured to each side of the upper a flap which is providedwith a plurality of corresponding lace holes, the lace holes beinglocated so that the lacings may fasten the shield centrally or to theleft or right of the instep of the wearer as desired.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 'Pmminme m2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY FOOTBALL BOOTSThis invention relates to football boots. The present invention providesa football boot, the upper of which is provided with an outer shieldwhich covers the instep of thewearer, each side edge of the shield beingprovided with a plurality of lace holes.

'The outer facing of the shield is preferably made of leather and may beformed integrally with the toe portion of the boot, that is to say onepiece of leather may be used to form both the toe-portion andthe outerfacing ofthe shield.

The shield preferably comprises a layer of reinforcing material stitchedor adhesively bonded to'the underside of the outer facing.Alternatively, the underside of the outer facing of the shield may beprovided with a pocket into which the reinforcing material may beinserted and, if desired, secured by, for example,

stitching or adhesive bonding,or by sewing up the top of thepocketfafte'r inserting the reinforcing material. The reinforcingmaterial preferably comprises a hard or semi-hard material, for example,wood, cork, stiff leather or a plastics material. Stiff leather isadvantageously used. It is also possible for a soft material,- forexample soft leather, to be used as reinforcing material. g

Depending upon the height of the instep of the person wearing the boot,it may also be necessary to provide some form of cushioning or paddingmaterial, for example a foamed plastics or synthetic rubber material, onthe underside of the reinforcing material.

It should be mentioned that the padding on the underside of the shieldalso serves the purpose of cushioning the impact between the boot and afootball, and it is therefore advantageous to provide the underside ofthe shield with at least a thin covering of a padding material. I

The paddingmaterial is preferably sewn or adhesively bonded to theunderside of. the reinforcement of the shield so that it does not becomedisplaced. Where the underside of the outer facing of the shield isprovided with a pocket into which the reinforcing material may beinserted, the pocket itself may be formed of, for example, soft leatherwhich may serve as a suitable padding material.

If desired, a separate shield could be sewn to the upper of an ordinaryfootball boot.

The shield is provided with a plurality of lace holes along each of itsside edges. It is,therefore, possible to secure the shield against thewearers instep by passing a lace alternately through the holes in theshield and beneath the sole of the boot. Preferably, however, each sideof the boot is provided with, for example, a flap, which may be stitchedor otherwise secured to the side of the boot and which also containslace holes. A lace can then be passed alternately through the holes inone side of the shield and the holes in one of the flaps to secure theshield to the wearer's instep, and then tied, for example, behind theheel of the boot. Each side edge of the shield and each of the flaps issuitably provided with from three to seven lace holes, four or f veholes being especially preferred. Each flap is advantageously situatedin such a position that the laces tend to pull the shield both downwardsand backwards onto the wearers instep. This latter method of securingthe shield to the wearers instep may be sufficient to secure the boot onthe wearers foot, so that conventional lacing may not be necessary.However, the boot may also be provided with conventional lacing beneaththe outer shield, in which case the boot is also advantageously providedwith a conventional tongue which passes between this lacing and thewearers instep.

The shield, and especially the reinforcing material 0 the shield, ispreferably so shaped as to conform with the shape of the wearers instep,that is to say, the underside of the shield is preferably slightlyconcave in shape.

The shield may be provided along its edges with a padding material toprevent injury to other players. This is especially desirable when ahard reinforcing material is used.

If desired, the outer facing of the shield may be provided with, forexample, a rubber or plastics covering to provide the shield with anon-slip surface. This material may be sewn or adhesively bonded to theouter facing of the shield and may extend so as also to cover thetoe-portion of the boot. The covering material may be provided with araised, non-slip pattern of, for example, a plurality of raised pimplesor ridges.

One form of boot according to the present invention will now bedescribed in greater detail, by way of exam.- ple only, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofthe boot,

FIG. 2 is a plan elevation of the shield of the boot of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a plan elevation of the boot of FIG. 1 with the shield cutaway, and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section through the boot of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a boot, designated generallyby the reference numeral 3, is provided with a shield 4 integral withthe toe portion '5 of the boot and which covers the conventional lacingof the boot. As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the shield 4 is providedalong each side edge with a number of lace holes 7. Each side of theboot is provided with a flap 8 carrying lace holes 9. To secure theshield to the wearers instep, a lace 16 can be passed alternatelythrough lace holes 7 and 9 and then, for example, through an eyelet 10,as shown, and tied behind the heel of the boot. As can be seen in thedrawing, the shield 4 is convexly curved across its width to conform tothe shape of the wearers instep. The boot is also provided with a tongue11.

The flaps 8 carrying lace holes 9 can be seen in FIG. 2 and are shownfolded away from the sides of the boot for the sake of clarity only. Theflaps 8 are positioned so that, when a lace is passed alternatelythrough lace holes 7 and 9 and the lace is then pulled tight, the shield4 is pulled backwards and downwards against the wearer's instep.

FIG. 3 shows more clearly the lace holes 17, for the conventional lacingof the boot, and the tongue 11. As can be seen in the drawing, the sides6 of the upper of the boot wrap over the tongue 11 which lies along thewearers instep, and can be secured by passing a lace through the laceholes 17. The sides 6 of the boot also provide extra padding between theunderside of the shield 4 and the wearers instep.

As seen in FIG. 4, the tongue 11 is secured, for example, stitched tothe upper of the boot so that it can pass between the shield 4 and thewearer's instep. The shield 4 comprises an outer facing 12 of leather, areinforcing material 13, and a padding layer 14. The shield is taperedand becomes thinner towards the toe of the boot so that there are nosharp corners to cause discomfort to the wearer and so that a proper fitis achieved, respectively.

The shield is formed with a pocket into which the reinforcing material13 is inserted. The side 6 of the boot is stitched to the leatherforming the toe-portion of the boot and the outer facing of the shield 4at 15.

When a person wearing a football boot according to the present inventionkicks a football, as much as percent of the circumference of thefootball may come into contact with the shield of the upper of the boot.Thus, the wearer can maintain a greater control over the football andthereby kick the football harder and more accurately in the desireddirection.

The football boot according to the present invention also has theadvantage that the wearer can easily adjust the inclination of theshield by inserting further reinforcing material into the pocket andposition the shield to the left or right of his instep by adjusting theside lacing of the shield. In the form shown in the drawings, forexample, the sets of lace holes 9 carried by the respective flaps 8 arelocated to define a space between them, measured across the instep,which is wider than the space between the sets of lace holes 7 carriedby the respective sides of shield 4, providing gaps between the edges ofthe shield 4 and flaps 8 which are bridged by the lacings 16, so thatthe unattached end of the shield 4 may be positioned centrally, or beswung toward one side of the shoe, by pulling the lacing evenly, or bydrawipg it more tightly at said one side of the shoe than the other. Asbest shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sets of lacing holes 9 are preferablypositioned about parallel to the shoe sole so that gaps between the sets7 and 9, when the shield 4 is centrally positioned, are wider adjacentthe unattached end of the shield 4 and narrower near the attached endthereof; which arrangement facilitates positioning of the shield asaforesaid.

I claim:

1. A football boot including an upper having a front opening and meanscooperable with the side edges of the upper defining said opening forsecuring the boot to the foot of the wearer, an outer shield attachedonly at its lower end to the upper of the boot above the toe portionthereof, said shield being provided along each of its side edges with aplurality of lace holes and lacing means comprising two flaps onearranged on each side of the upper and each having a set of lace holes,said lacing means comprising lacing engaging the shield and the flapsand being capable of swinging the portion of said shield not secured tothe upper of the boot toward one side or the other of the instep, forfastening said shield against the upper of the shoe centrally or to theleft or right of the instep of the wearer.

2. A football boot including an upper having a front opening, the sideedges of the upper defining said opening being provided with lace holesadapted to receive a lace for securing the boot to the foot of thewearer, an outer shield attached only at its lower end to the upper ofthe boot above the toe ortion thereof said shield having along each ofits $1 e edges a set of lace holes,

and lacing means comprising two flaps one arranged on each side of theupper and each having a set of lace holes, said lacing means comprisinglacing engaging the shield and the flaps and being capable of swingingthe portion of said shield not secured to the upper of the boot towardone side or the other of the instep, for fastening said shield againstthe upper of the shoe centrally or to the left or right of the instep ofthe wearer.

3. A football boot according to claim 2, wherein sets of lace holes ofsaid flaps are arranged substantially parallel to the shoe sole.

4. A football boot according to claim 2, wherein the swingable portionof the shield is of hollow construction for receiving reinforcingmaterial inserted therein.

1. A football boot including an upper having a front opening and meanscooperable with the side edges of the upper defining said opening forsecuring the boot to the foot of the wearer, an outer shield attachedonly at its lower end to the upper of the boot above the toe portionthereof, said shield being provided along each of its side edges with aplurality of lace holes and lacing means comprising two flaps onearranged on each side of the upper and each having a set of lace holes,said lacing means comprising lacing engaging the shield and the flapsand being capable of swinging the portion of said shield not secured tothe upper of the boot toward one side or the other of the instep, forfastening said shield against the upper of the shoe centrally or to theleft or right of the instep of the wearer.
 2. A football boot includingan upper having a front opening, the side edges of the upper definingsaid opening being provided with lace holes adapted to receive a lacefor securing the boot to the foot of the wearer, an outer shieldattached only at its lower end to the upper of the boot above the toeportion thereof, said shield having along each of its side edges a setof lace holes, and lacing means comprising two flaps one arranged oneach side of the upper and each having a set of lace holes, said lacingmeans comprising lacing engaging the shield and the flaps and beingcapable of swinging the portion of said shield not secured to the upperof the boot toward one side or the other of the instep, for fasteningsaid shield against the upper of the shoe centrally or to the left orright of the instep of the wearer.
 3. A football boot according to claim2, wherein sets of lace holes of said flaps are arranged substantiallyparallel to the shoe sole.
 4. A football boot according to claim 2,wherein the swingable portion of the shield is of hollow constructionfor receiving reinforcing material inserted therein.